Hand operated wire straightening tool



April 3, 1956 H. J. PRITTS 2,740,435

HAND OPERATED WIRE STRAIGHTENING TOOL Filed Sept. 26, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HENRY J. PRITTS ATTORNEY April 3, 1956 H. J.PRlTTS 2,740,435

HAND OPERATED WIRE STRAIGHTENING TOOL Filed Sept. 26, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT OR HENRY J. PRITTS ATTORNEY United States Patent2,740,435 Patented Apr. 3, 1956 [ice HAND OPERATED WIRE STRAIGHTENINGTOOL Henry J. Pritts, Kitzmiller, Md. Application September 26, 1952,Serial No. 311,720

1 Claim. (Cl. 140-147) This invention relates to a hand operated wirestraightening device and has for an object to provide a deviceprincipally intended for removing kinks from mine trolley wires, butalso capable of being used for bending or straightening cold rolledsteel or cable and similar articles.

A further object of this invention is to provide a wire bending orstraightening device having a movably operable arm located between tworigid arms, all three arms having means for receiving and holding thewire, with the middle arm movable to bend the wire in either directionrelative to the other two arms.

A further object of this invention is to provide a trolley wirestraightening device having means for grasping a trolley wire at threepoints with the means grasping the middle point movable in eitherdirection relative to the other two points to thus straighten the wirein either direction.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention comprisesthe combination, construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter setforth, claimed and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the straightening device of this invention inthe process of removing a downward kink.

Fig. 2 is a side plan view looking toward the left of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is atop plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. l but partly in section and showing thedevice in the process of removing an upward kink.

Fig. 5 is a side plan view looking at the right of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the wire receiving arms.

There is shown at 10 the hand operated wire straightening or bendingdevice of this invention. This straighening or bending device includes aU-shaped member 11 having a pair of spaced apart parallel rigid legs 12extending from a rigid base or bight member 13. Extending in theopposite direction of the legs 12 from the base or bight 13 is a hollowsleeve 14 further secured to the bottom of the base or bight 13 byangular brace members 15. A third leg 16 is integrally and rigidlysecured on the end of a reciprocatable shaft 17 slidably extendingthrough the hollow sleeve 14 and a suitable aperture in the base orbight 13.

Each leg 12 is provided with a wire receiving notch 18, the notches 18being in axial alignment with each other, and the intermediate movablelegs 16 is likewise provided with a similar wire receiving notch 20,which as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, may be moved into axial alignment withthe notches 18 from either side thereof. The notches 18 and 20 areadapted to receive and hold a wire cable or cold rolled steel 21 thereinfor bending or straightening that portion of the wire 21 which isreceived within the notch 18.

In order to controllably move the leg 16 and thus bend or straighten thewire 21 received within the notches 12 and 18, there is secured to theseleve 14 a rigid handle lever 22 as by welding 23 or other suitablemeans. The handle lever 22 is provided with a longitudinally extendingslot 24 in which may be pivoted as at 25 the end. 26 of a second handlelever 27. Adjacent these ends 26, a pair of link straps 28 are pivotedat one end thereof as at 30 to the handle lever 27 and at their otherend are pivoted at 31 to that end of shaft 17 but extends below thesleeve 14.

Insulated handle grips 32 made of suitable material such as hard rubberor the like and suitably knurled are molded about the manipulating endsof the handle levers 22 and 27.

In operation, this bending or straightening device is particularlyintended for straightening mine trolley wires, but is equally useful inbending or straightening other cable or cold rolled steel. In the caseof mine trolley wires, the wires 21 are usually located very close tothe heading, and there is not enough room to manipulate a tool a greatamount. In Fig. 1, the tool is shown as removing a kink 33 from the minetrolley wire 21, the kink 33 extending downwardly from the overheadwire. In this case, the tool 10 is so manipulated that the notches 18 inthe legs 12 serve to receive a straight portion of the wire 21, whilethe notch 20 in the leg 16 serves to receive the kink 33 of the wire 21,the handle levers 22 and 27 being in the full position shown. Then, thehandle 27 is moved to the position shown at 27'.

This handle 27 moving about its focal pivot 25 advances the shaft 17 toits sleeve 14 and moves the leg 16 to bring its notch 243 into axialalignment with the notches 18, thus, eliminating the kink 23 andstraightening out this portion of the wire.

In Fig. 4, the tool 10 is shown as removing or straightening an upwardkink 34 in the wire 21. In this case, the movable lever 27 is firstmoved to the position shown in full lines at 27 in Fig. 4, so that thestraighter portions of the wire 21 may be received within notches 18 andthe king portion 34rnay be received within notch 20 of the movable leg16. Then the leg 27 in Fig. 4 is moved down to the position shown indotted lines at 27 bringing the notch 20 into axial alignment with thenotches 18, and thus, eliminating the kink at 34.

As a result of this construction, the center leg 12 may have its notch20 moved both forward and back of axial alignment with the other twonotches in the other two legs, thus, enabling the operator to removebends in any direction while working from only one side of the wire,which is a decided advantage when the wire is laying on the ground or ishanging close to the roof or rib of a mine.

While the device has been shown and the structure described in detail,it is obvious that this invention is not to be considered as beinglimited to the exact form disclosed, and that changes in detail andconstruction may be made therein within the scope of what is claimed,without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, Whatis claimed is:

A wire straightening tool comprising parallel fiat plates having axiallyaligned transversely aligned relatively deep U-shaped wirereceivingnotches therein, the egs of said notches being parallel andperpendicular to an edge of said plates whereby pressure may be exertedon a wire against either side of the notch, a third plate movablyinterposed between said rigid plates, said third plate having a U-shapednotch therein having parallel legs whereby upon movement of said thirdplate in either direction a wire positioned in said first mentionednotches may be bent in either direction by said last mentioned notchupon movement of said third plate, means for mounting said third plateto move its notch into and out of axial alignment with said firstmentioned notches from either side thereof, said rigid plates extendingin parallelism from a rigid connecting base and comprising righttherewithin, a handle lever fixedly secured to said sleeve,,

a'second handle lever pivotally Connected to said first handle lever anda link pivotally connected'at its epposite ends to said second handlelever and said rod for slidably advancing or retracting said rod andhence said movable plate and its notch as said second handle mem her ismanually pivoted on said first handle lever, thus to bend or straightena Wire seated within the three notches of said plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES" PATENTS"Sheahan June 25, 1901 Mimmack Apr. 26, 1910 Johnson et al. May 21, 1912Mover May 13, 1924 Kennedy Sept. 8, 1931 Allen Aug. 30, 1938

